Funding

UK-South Africa joint initiative on mental health

ESRC, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) are pleased to invite research proposals to the UK-South Africa mental health initiative.

This Newton Fund initiative will provide funding for high quality collaborative research projects focused on addressing mental health in South Africa. In total, up to ~£3.43 million / ZAR 56 million over three years will be made available for this initiative.

The funders are inviting research proposals on child, adolescent and adult age onset mental disorders including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, addiction, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, neurodevelopmental disorders, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders, self-harm and suicide, in South Africa. The funders are welcoming mental health research proposals across the spectrum of research activities including, but not limited to, basic discovery research, epidemiology, understanding the mechanisms of disease, novel detection and diagnosis, development of therapeutics/interventions and care arrangements, investigation of biological, psychological, social, environmental and/or economic determinants of disease and their interactions, public health research and the impact of different public and practitioner understandings of mental health and stigma.

As this is a joint UK/SAMRC initiative, applicants must submit their application to the UK MRC via the Je-S system, but, if successful, the SAMRC will be the awarding body. UK MRC funds will be transferred to the SAMRC, and SAMRC will contract directly with the SA institutions. The SA PI's institution will then subcontract to the UK PI's institution to facilitate funds transfer to the UK partner.

How to apply

Further details and information on how to apply can be found on the MRC's website.